You are here

LIFT and the Impact on Enrollment

“What impact has LIFT had on enrollment?” It is a question that Director of Admissions Brett Chmiel ‘02

says continues to humble him.

“While we can’t measure the direct impact now, there is a correlation between good enrollment momentum and our community’s excitement for the outcomes of LIFT.

“The development of capital renovations, a growing endowment, and a stronger investment in access to curricular resources are all great signs of current and future prosperity — and families are attracted to that,” he said.

And while Chmiel would not attribute a causal relationship between LIFT and enrollment, he says that both enrollment and admissions trends are up.

At the beginning of the LIFT effort in 2011, there were nearly 200 more students in local Catholic grade schools than there are today. Even with this drop, the number of eighth grade shadows has increased from 117 to more than 250 per year, and enrollment is up nearly 40 students. In addition, freshmen classes then had students coming from 27 different grade schools, now that is nearly 40, illustrating how far out CJ’s reach has grown to families around the region.

“Looking ahead we see great promise in our enrollment, and through the efforts of LIFT, the CJ community has secured a thriving existence for the outreach of our mission, and longevity to serve many more generations of students."

Preparing for the Class of 2021

In this first week of 2017, Chmiel is signing letters that will soon be sent home to the accepted students in the Class of 2021.

"There is a lot of excitement from our community because we are hitting above all our predicted benchmarks for this year," noted Chmiel. "We're doing that in shadows, applications, as well as students who we have accepted for the Class of 2021. Looking ahead, we are really positive about growth in total enrollment and possibly our incoming freshman class.

"The development of LIFT and our campus expansion has created an opportunity for more families than ever to be here having great experiences," Chmiel added. "We believe that has had an impact on why people are choosing CJ."

Priority course registration day for the Class of 2021 will be held on Thursday, February 16.